North Carolina narrowly avoids major upset

ST. LOUIS -- Harrison Barnes scored five of his 12 points in overtime to help the top-seeded Tar Heels escape a huge upset with a 73-65 victory over No. 13 seed Ohio on Friday night in a Midwest Regional semifinal.

Ohio had a chance to convert a three-point play that would have given the Bobcats the lead with 25 seconds left in regulation. But Walter Offutt missed from the line and Ohio went 0-for-6 from the field in overtime.

"One free throw away," Offutt said. "As a leader on this team, I take responsibility that I've got to hit that free throw . . . It just feels terrible to kind of let my team down in that sort of way."

Tyler Zeller had 20 points and a career-high 22 rebounds for North Carolina (32-5), which missed injured point guard Kendall Marshall. The Tar Heels had three players with double-doubles: Reggie Bullock had 17 points and 10 boards, and John Henson had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard Stilman White was an impressive fill-in for Marshall, dishing out six assists without a single turnover in 32 minutes -- almost three times his previous high.

"We feel like we got away with one," Zeller said. "Ohio played the better game, they hit a lot of shots. I think we just were able to make a lot of plays at the end that made us capable of pulling it out."

Offutt led the Bobcats (29-8) with 26 points. D.J. Cooper, who averaged 20 points in Ohio's first two tournament games, finished with just 10 points and 3-for-20 shooting.

Kansas 60, North Carolina State 57: Thomas Robinson had 18 points and 15 rebounds to lead the second-seeded Jayhawks (30-6) to victory in a closely fought contest. Jeff Withey added 10 blocks for Kansas.

Four players scored in double figures for the 11th-seeded Wolfpack (24-13), led by C.J. Leslie's 18 points. Richard Howell added 17 rebounds, 10 of them offensive.

North Carolina (32-5), which has won 11 straight in the regional semifinals, plays Kansas on Sunday afternoon in the Midwest Regional final.